Page 43 of Bratty Badboys

Caleb looked at me and the sleeping beauty on the bed and said, “Both of you. We should make a group chat so Anna can see the video that I meant to send her.” He smirked at me and said, “I’ll see you soon.”

It was silent when Caleb left, closing the door behind him.

I sighed, glancing at Anna, who was sound asleep. I smiled, seeing her relaxed face, and tucked her in. I kissed her cheek and cuddled with her. My grandma would question me in the morning where I spent the entire night, but I was an adult.

Besides, it was time I too moved on from my past.

21

SECRET ADMIRER

ANNA

“Take a deep breath and bend at your waist… Rylie, relax your spine, honey, and—that’s it. Hold and one, two, three… relax.”

I smiled at their flushed, sweaty faces and asked them to take a few deep breaths before moving to cool down.

After ten more minutes, everyone had a glow on their skin. I chatted with the few regulars who had joined my Pilates studio and helped my assistant, June, with the clean-up. I had hired June two months ago so I could spend more time with Aaron and help prepare for his wedding. She was smart and creative with our social media and helped with the group training. Some clients had already consulted her for one-on-one trainings.

“How was the wedding?” June asked, her gray eyes widening with excitement. She had missed the wedding since it clashed with her Hawaii travel with her friends for graduating with honors in business. “I saw Aaron’s Instagram, and you looked so pretty in the pink dress!”

“Thank you, June,” I said with a small smile and checked the reformer machines for any signs of wear and tear. All the straps were perfect, and springs were fine with enough lubricant. “Everything went well, and the cake was delicious.”

Not to mention the almost threesome I had with two men who were both younger than me. One of them was my son’s age who turned out to be his ex-boyfriend from college and the other man is my neighbor and the best part is that after the most amazing sensual night ever—none of them has contacted me.

I tried not to frown, thinking about waking up alone two days ago in my hotel room with a small note from Kyle. He had to leave early morning, and he didn’t wake me up because I was asleep. I didn’t even remember when I had passed out… Jesus, that was a first one. Passing out from too much pleasure at the hands and mouths of two handsome young men.

“Yeah,” I nodded, smiling at her. “It was nice.”

I asked her about Hawaii, and after a few more minutes of small talk, I went to my corner office and tried to work on administrative tasks. Tried because every time I typed out an email or tried to maintain records of my clients, my brain flashed me with the images of the night with Caleb and Kyle. I couldn’t get rid of Caleb’s mischievous smirk and Kyle’s gentle touch as he degraded me.

“Anna.” I looked at June when she hovered by the door, a huge grin on her face. “Come out! You received a surprise!”

“Surprise?” I asked, following her to the main door. She had spring in her steps, making me smile. I loved how young and radiant she was, and clients liked her energy to push them beyond their limits with an infectious smile. She reminded me of myself when I started out being a Pilates trainer and achieved all the certificates.

My steps slowed down when I saw a large bouquet. It was humongous. When June handed it to me, it covered half of my body. The heady smell of sweet roses made my lips curl up in a smile.

“You have a secret admirer!” June said excitedly. “You need to give me all the tea once these classes are over.”

She rushed back to the classes as I took the bouquet back to my office and set it down on the desk. I took a deep breath, ruffling through the roses and finding the white card with the flowery border. It smelled expensive as I flipped it open and saw the smooth, familiar scribble.

I miss you, angel. Do you want to go out for dinner with me? It’s a date if you agree.

P.S. Your snores are cute and would like to hear them often.

Kyle

I was not blushing over a sweet gesture. I was not. Mhmm. I’m sure.

Okay, I’m lying. I was swooning, with warm cheeks and a stupid grin on my face. I had always been a romantic, a sucker for rom-com movies that made me cry. I had never expected to receive flowers from any man (except my son) or being asked out on a date in such a sweet, old-fashioned way.

I should have known. Kyle was a gentleman through and through. He must have already planned the restaurant and even made a reservation.

As I sat down on the chair and mulled over the ‘date,’ I kept fumbling with the card and his handsome handwriting. I could imagine laughing with him on a candlelight dinner, sharing an ice-cream at the park and kissing secretly in front of my house before he walked to his porch and waved me goodnight.

Alice was young and sweet. She’d like me to date as she often tried to set me up with any man who looked like Prince Charming—her words, not mine. And she already liked Kyle. We could make it work despite the ten-year age-gap. But I didn’t know why I needed more time to mull over it.

I swallowed, thinking about the cheap words Timothy had thrown at me days ago. He had never once given me flowers. Felix had given me a rose during Valentine’s Day years ago when we were newly married.

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